Coming Home & The Extra Bits

Our transfer from the Intercontinental Vienna to the airport wasn't until noon so we quickly finished packing, had breakfast and headed out for a final stroll around the city. We didn't really have a destination in mind but just wanted to soak up a bit more of all Vienna had to offer. Oddly, the first thing we saw as we crossed the street was a parade of ducks. There was no water in the vicinity and they proceeded around the corner and down the street. 

We found yet another of the Habsburgs' Palaces as we continued. That family had more palaces than people I think! This one was quite extensive and had a greenhouse that had been turned into a butterfly garden. The German word for butterfly is schmetterling which I enjoyed saying too many times. 

As we walked through the passage in the palace we heard a band playing. There was a military band and other soldiers doing some kind of ceremony in a large interior square. It turned out that there was some kind of changing of ambassadors going on. We heard a few different national anthems and watched a few inspections before moving on.

When we started to feel raindrops and looked at the time, we knew we needed to head back to the hotel. This last shot of Vienna sort of sums up how the old and the new join together to make this city, and so many others in Europe, great places to visit and explore.

Extra Bits

Whenever we go on a trip, there are things we notice that are new or different or fun. Sometimes they get into the blog and sometimes I forget about them until we get home and I look at the pictures. We also do a kind of debrief together to see what we will change next time we travel or what new ideas we have based on the current trip. And, we always go over things we forgot to bring even though we had lists! This time it was sunscreen which we ended up buying in a store in Nüremburg I think. I had a bag of wires and connectors but forgot the one wire that charged both of our Ipad keyboards! 

We walked 154 km on the trip which averaged out to about 9 km a day. There were a few days with little walking when we were cruising from one city to another but we made up for it on other days. The walking could explain why we both came back a pound lighter than when we left. That was a major shock as we both figured we'd be 10 pounds heavier after all the food and beverages that we consumed. Another reason might be the portion sizes. When you look at the pictures, every serving is reasonable and most were less than we'd have at home. That's a lesson that we are determined to remember.

Europe loves bikes! Amsterdam was the most bike loving city we've seen and it seemed like there were more bikes than cars on the road sometimes. You really had to be careful in any of the big cities because the bike lanes were for bikes and you risked being run down if you walked in the wrong place. As a bike rider, I really liked how there were so many dedicated bike lanes and great bike/walking paths along rivers and canals. 

This is a bit random, but the most distinctive beer we had was a smoked beer from Bamberg. I mentioned it in the blog but want to say that you can get the same beer here in the LCBO. It's in the larger stores with the big beer coolers and looks like this:

This was our second river cruise and we can confirm that we really love this mode of travel. You unpack once and travel comfortably from place to place and have the opportunity to explore on your own as well as with guides. The food is amazing and the service is the best we've ever seen. The cabins are not large but they are well designed and comfortable with all amenities included. One of the great perks for past customers is that each person gets a free bag of washing each week. In theory, that should greatly reduce how much stuff you bring but we're still working on that part! Thanks for joining us on our trip!